Helping to launch new programs in the community

This year, the Jewish Federation launched the Center for Impact and Innovation. The decision to move our focus in this direction is based on past successes that created a climate of collaboration and innovation in transforming our community through new programs, initiatives, and information.

In 2013, our community learned who we are, what are our needs, and how can we better serve the community via the Jewish Pop Study. Always a concern that these studies are costly and have no follow-through, we were mindful of the results and several tangible actions have already happened. The purchase of The Commons at 1721 Springdale Road was the result of learning that over 60 percent of the Jewish population in the tri-county area resides in Camden County. This is also a population that is aging and has a higher number of individuals with special needs. At the same time, JFCS’ special needs programs and Aleph Home Care were seeing a boom and needed additional space. These programs are now housed at The Commons and are able to grow with the space.

Similarly, the Community Shark Tank initiative was a huge success last year. Again building on the areas of impact seen in our Pop Study, programs were funded for seniors, special needs, education, and engagement. These programs are all launching now due to the funding of our generous “sharks” and the community efforts to collaborate on innovative programming.

Through our Center for Impact and Innovation, we will continue to look for ways to bring innovative programs to our community and to evaluate our existing programs to ensure maximum impact. We will be exploring our “big data” to better understand our community dynamics and serve the needs of Jewish South Jersey for many years to come.